


adore all the pieces of you (with all the pieces of me)

by Bellakitse



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Grumpy Alex, M/M, Michael Guerin Loves Alex Manes, Michael loves him anyway, Romance, Sappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22272847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellakitse/pseuds/Bellakitse
Summary: Alex is a moody little thing, Michael likes him just the way he is.**“You’re also sarcastic as hell,” he continues, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “And I love it, I love all of it. I adore all the pieces of you.”
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 21
Kudos: 201





	adore all the pieces of you (with all the pieces of me)

**Author's Note:**

> anon tumblr fill- 17. You’re really hot, shame about the personality” 

Alex Manes is sitting on the massage table of the physical therapist’s room, watching as his friend Dr. Kyle Valenti walks around inspecting the place, acting like he’s never been in this part of the hospital.

_Surgeons_ , honestly.

“You know you don’t have to babysit me, right?” he questions sulkily as Kyle ignores him for a poster on the wall that rates pain levels. “I’ve been at this for months now, I don’t need you to hold my hand.”

“Really?” Kyle turns around, flashing him a smirk that makes Alex question why he reconnected with him when he came home from Baghdad in the first place. “ _Shame_ , you have such pretty hands, Manes.”

Alex shoots him an irritated look, rolling his eyes when it doesn’t seem to phase the good doctor’s good mood. Instead, he chuckles in the face of Alex’s annoyance.

“You’re such a grouch Alex,” Kyle tells him with fondness in his voice.

It soothes the instant guilt Kyle’s words cause, even as the truth of them sting a little. He hates that he’s in a mood all the time, but he can’t help it. He’s been back home five months, and eight since he got hurt and was honorably discharged from the Air Force.

He thinks eight months should be enough time for him to get used to his new normal.

He’s been trying.

He doesn’t resent the crutch at his side nearly as much as he did when he first started using it. He can ignore his prosthetic sometimes if he puts his mind to it. He just can’t ignore it _here,_ in this room when he’s in shorts that show off the gleaming metal, waiting for the therapist to put his hands on him.

He cuts off his train of thought before it goes any further, the next hour is going to be torture enough as is, no need to think about _him_ , before it starts.

“Seriously Valenti, don’t you have patients to heal with your magic hands?” he asks sarcastically.

Kyle shrugs at him as he leans against the wall, still grinning like Alex is a source of great amusement for him. “I have healed everyone, no one left.”

Alex rolls his eyes. “ _Okay Jesus_ ,” he mutters.

Kyle cocks his head to the side studying him, while Alex tries not to squirm under his gaze. “Why are you trying to get rid of me?” Kyle questions with a puzzled look. 

“Does it really bother you? Me being here or-“ Kyle trails off. Alex looks away but not fast enough for Kyle to read something off his face. _“Oh.”_

Alex closes his eyes as he hears the glee in Kyle’s voice. _“Don’t_ ,” he warns him, only to get ignored as Kyle lets out a laugh making Alex regret everything in his life. He especially regrets the last time he and Kyle got drunk, and Alex confessed his feelings for a certain someone.

Kyle laughs even harder, while Alex seriously considers knocking him out with his crutch.

“This is about _Guerin_ ,” Kyle teases, and Alex hates the way his body reacts to the name. “You don’t want me here when he comes in because you _love_ him.”

Alex glares at his friend, hating the way his cheeks burn. “Blow me.”

Kyle lets out a roaring laugh, clutching his stomach as Alex fumes, embarrassed; he keeps laughing to the point of turning red, and when he starts coughing, Alex darkly hopes he chokes.

“It’s not _my_ mouth you fantasize about,” Kyle gets out, gasping for breath as his laughter calms down to a chuckle. “Which frankly is insulting.”

“Shut up, Kyle,” he hisses out just as the door opens, and his physical therapist for the last four months walks in.

_Michael Guerin._

He wears his usual light blue scrubs like the majority of the hospital staff, but he fills them out so much better. His hair is a mess of curls like always, and Alex has to curl his hands, his nails biting into his palm at the desire to touch it. He looks at Alex with the same wide smile he always has when he sees him.

“Oh-oh, what’s this? Captain grumpy pants, scowling?” Michael questions with a grin instead of offering a greeting. He barely spares Kyle a glance.

Alex tells himself not to get excited about that, he’s Michael’s patient. That’s why it seems like Michael never looks away from him, it’s nothing more.

“It’s his default setting,” Kyle comments in with a shit-eating grin.

Alex rolls his eyes, making a face at Kyle, scowling even harder when Michael lets out an amused sound. “Yeah, it’s me,” he says dryly. “Not like Kyle is an asshole, and you’ve walked in to join him,” he answers, looking back at Michael, his stomach flipping when Michael looks at him fondly.

“You’re really hot when you look like that,” Michael says, pointing at Alex’s face. It doesn’t startle Alex as much as the first time Michael commented on his good looks, but it still sends a jolt through him. “Well, to be fair, you always look good,” he continues, stepping over to a file cabinet to pull out Alex’s file. “Shame about the personality.”

That shuts Alex up, and he can’t help the hurt he feels at the comment; he tries to keep his expression neutral, but he knows he’s not successful by the way Kyle shoots him a look, and Michael pauses looking back at him with an apologetic expression.

“Alex-“

“I better go,” Kyle interrupts Michael, shooting him a glare of his own, it almost makes Alex smile at his friend’s protectiveness. “I have rounds. Drinks tonight, Alex?”

“Yeah,” he says, clearing his throat. “Later.”

He and Michael watch Kyle leave in silence, the tension in the room rising a notch as their buffer leaves them.

“I’m sorry,” Michael starts, stopping short when Alex waves him off.

“Forget it,” he says quickly, he tries to smile but knows it comes off as a grimace. “I know I have a shitty attitude, you didn’t say anything I didn’t already know. Let's just get to the session.”

Michael goes to open his mouth again, only to stop, his shoulders slouching. They get to work, only talking when Michael asks him how his new prosthetic feels. They go over his daily activities before Michael runs his tests, touching him with gentle hands when it’s time to check him over. Alex holds his breath when they get to the massage part of their session, forcing himself not to react as Michael’s strong hands knead the sore muscles of his leg.

“You’re tense,” Michael murmurs, his body so close to Alex he can feel the heat radiating off him.

“I’m always tense,” Alex mumbles, leaning back on the table. “Part of my personality.”

Michael's hands stop, and when he looks up from where he’s working, his honey-colored eyes look sad.

“I’m sorry,” he says again, not stopping when Alex shakes his head. “No, really, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

Alex rolls his eyes, hating that they’re so close, and he can’t put space between them. It leaves him feeling more vulnerable than he would like. “Like I said, I know what I’m like, it’s no big deal.”

Michael shakes his head. “That’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean the last part, your personality isn’t a shame.”

Alex sighs deeply. _“Guerin.”_

“See _that_ ,” Michael points at him. “That tried sigh, the rolling eyes, the scowling, you are a grump Alex Manes.”

_“Thanks_ ,” Alex says dryly, making Michael grin.

“You’re also sarcastic as hell,” he continues, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “And I love it, I love all of it. I adore all the pieces of you.”

Alex’s breath catches, his heart pounding against his ribcage at the look Michael gives him. A small spark of hope springs inside him that he can’t put out no matter how hard he tries.

“Why?”

Michael’s expression softens, and Alex swallows hard at the affection he sees there. “Because all of that makes you, _you_. You’re Alex Manes, war hero, super hacker, you frown, you laugh and everything else in between, and sometimes you give me this look that makes me think I have a chance.”

Alex licks his lips, his body lighting up when Michael’s eyes track the action. “A chance at what?”

Michael looks at him, his hands that have still been touching his stump come up to cup his face. “A chance to be the reason you start smiling more than frowning. I want to make you smile all the time, Alex.”

Alex watches as Michael’s eyes light up when he tugs him forward, they both have smiles on their faces when they kiss. It’s a soft touch of their lips, gentle and loving, and everything Alex has been dreaming about for months.

When they part, Michael beams at him, causing Alex to laugh, blushing as Michael touches the corner of his smile with his thumb.

“You already do, Michael.”


End file.
